The present disclosure relates generally to water chillers, and more specifically, to thermoelectric water chillers.
Water chillers that store and provide cool water for drinking are well known. The chilled water is stored in a reservoir and dispensed through a faucet for consumption. A thermoelectric device is a popular means of chilling the water in the reservoir. U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,489 to Moren, which is incorporated by reference, discloses a cooled liquid dispenser that uses a thermoelectric device to cool the liquid.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating portions of a typical thermoelectric water chiller. A reservoir 10 has a water inlet 12 and a water outlet 14. A cooling probe 20 extends through an opening in the reservoir 10 into the reservoir to chill water contained therein. As chilled water is dispensed via the outlet 14, water is drawn into the reservoir 10 via the inlet 12 to be chilled.
With typical water chillers, the outlet 14 is situated so as to draw water from near the bottom of the reservoir 10—the tube for the outlet 14 extends to near the bottom of the reservoir 10. However, the warm water entering the reservoir 10 through the inlet 12 flows unobstructed directly towards the outlet tube at the bottom of the reservoir 10. This unrestricted flow of warm supply water causes thermal mixing of the warm inlet water and the stored chilled water, resulting in warmer output water.
Further, a vent opening 26 is typically provided in the outlet tube 14. Prior to being filled with water, the reservoir 10 is filled with air. When the reservoir is initially filled with water, the vent opening 26 allows the air to escape from the reservoir 10. Unfortunately, the vent opening 26 also allows warmer water from the top of the reservoir 10 to mix with the chilled water drawn from the bottom of the reservoir 10 when water is drawn from the reservoir 10 via the outlet 14, thus warming the output water as it is dispensed.
Still further, known water chiller devices have an unregulated flow of water into the reservoir 10 through the inlet 12. This results in varying water pressure and flow through the reservoir 10, varying the effectiveness of the device.
The device of the present disclosure addresses shortcomings associated with the prior art.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.